Site Mobile Navigation

National Briefing: Midwest

A man who called himself Dr. Chaos pleaded guilty on Thursday to possessing chemical weapons, for storing cyanide in the Chicago subway. Under a plea deal, the man, Joseph D. Konopka, 25, admitted obtaining two bottles of potassium cyanide and sodium cyanide from an abandoned warehouse last year and storing them in the subway. Judge Wayne Andersen of Federal District Court set sentencing for March 13.

(AP)

MICHIGAN: INQUIRY ON AIRPORT CONTRACTS

Federal and state agents searched the offices of the Wayne County executive, Edward H. McNamara, who is being investigated over contracts at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. A 97-gate terminal, a hub for Northwest Airlines , is named for Mr. McNamara, 76, who is retiring on Dec. 31 after 16 years as county executive. "We are cooperating fully," he said in a statement. "We do not know the basis of their investigation. We hope it's not politically motivated."

Danny Hakim (NYT)

MICHIGAN: TAX-FRAUD ADMISSIONS

In one of the largest federal tax-fraud cases, two executives of a provider of human-resources services have agreed to plead guilty to evading $52 million in taxes. Investigators said they believed that the men, Dennis Lambka and Ronald Bray, both 48, used the money for personal pursuits. Their company, Simplified Employment Services of Auburn Hills, which ran health insurance, payroll and other services for companies, was once the fourth-largest business in the industry. It serviced 39,000 employees in 37 states and had revenues of $1 billion a year. It is now in bankruptcy.

Anand Giridharadas (NYT)

MICHIGAN: DEMOCRATS CONSIDER RECOUNT

Neither side is retreating from claiming victory in the race for state attorney general. The Democratic Party said this week that it had found enough inconsistencies and counting errors to challenge the victory of Mike Cox, a Republican who is installing his transition team. The official tally shows the Democrat, Gary Peters, trailing Mr. Cox by 5,198 votes. The Board of State Canvassers is to certify the vote on Monday.